Thousands of children in Rockland, Mass. ushered in summer with a new, eco-friendly playground, thanks to Yokohama Tire Corp. (YTC), Sullivan Tire Co., KaBOOM!, the Rockland Park Department, the Town of Rockland, and Play Areas for Rockland Kids (P.A.R.K.).
“We had more than 150 volunteers from the community join in and help build the playground at Hartsuff Park in one day, and it will benefit children and their families for many years,” says Alan Holtschneider, director of marketing for Yokohama. “We’re glad Paul Sullivan and the Sullivan Tire team joined us, as well as all the other partners, to make this dream become a reality.”
The build is part of Yokohama's ongoing partnership commitment with KaBOOM! – the national non-profit dedicated to ensuring that all children get the balanced and active play needed to thrive. Once Rockland was identified as a potential build site, Holtschneider says Sullivan Tire Co. quickly jumped on board.
“What an amazing day for Rockland children and their families,” says Paul Sullivan, vice president of marketing at Sullivan Tire. “Many thanks to all the hard-working volunteers, and to Yokohama and KaBOOM! for offering us this wonderful opportunity to support the town that we were founded in. Rockland is very near and dear to our hearts and the new playground will be a huge benefit to keeping kids active and healthy.”
Yokohama, Sullivan Tire and KaBOOM! met with local parents and their children a few weeks earlier to design the playground and pick out color schemes and equipment for the kids to play on, including new, environmentally safe, “Cradle to Cradle”-certified playground apparatuses from Playworld Systems.
“Rockland was glad to provide the land and park department resources for the new playground,” says Allan Chiocca, Rockland town administrator. “This is an incredible addition to the recreation opportunities for children and families in Rockland.”
Holtschneider said another build with KaBOOM! will be announced in the future. YTC has a multi-channel partnership with the organization. KaBOOM! also is the charity recipient of the annual Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic in Prattville, Ala. All proceeds from the annual tournament fund future playground builds to make sure children get the recommended 60 minutes of daily physical activity they need to become healthy and fit.
“Thanks to Yokohama, Sullivan Tire and our Rockland partners in helping us reach our goal of bringing balanced and active play to kids,” says Lysa Ratliff, KaBOOM! vice president of corporate partnerships. “Today was a total team effort.”
For more information about Yokohama, visit www.yokohamatire.com.
For more information about Sullivan Tire, visit www.sullivantire.com.
For more information about KaBOOM! visit kaboom.org.
